


All Through the Night

by bluedragoninamber



Series: sithnip [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: AU-Sithnip-during Strange Trajectories, Asexual Relationship, Fluff, Introspection, Other, Singing, Turnabout is Fair Play, adults acting like children, cameo by parental Yoda, gift story for you, mischievous Dooku and Xanatos, written with permission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-15 10:45:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11804436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluedragoninamber/pseuds/bluedragoninamber
Summary: It's the night before Jan Dooku's Reconciliation to the Jedi Order, and he can't sleep.  Xanatos helps.





	1. Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wrennette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrennette/gifts).
  * Inspired by [beloved...share your wounds](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11669706) by [wrennette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrennette/pseuds/wrennette). 
  * Inspired by [strange trajectories](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11163006) by [wrennette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrennette/pseuds/wrennette). 



** Disclaimer ** **: I don’t own it, and I am making no money off of it.**

 ** AN ** **: This story is a gift for Wrennette. It is written, with her permission, in her Sithnip AU series. This particular story takes place somewhere between chapter four and chapter fourteen of “Strange Trajectories” and is set the night before Dooku is formally Reconciled to the Jedi Order. I recommend reading the rest of Wrennette’s Sithnip series in order to understand this story. Dooku and Xanatos are an established couple by this point, but their relationship, while romantic and loving, is not sexual. So that means touching, holding, kissing, platonically sharing a bed, yes. Beyond that, no. They do have a very close pair bond, a mental bond made possible by their Force abilities. I’ve also conjectured regarding the sleeping habits of Yoda’s unknown species.**

**The song at the end of this story is known as “All Through the Night,” and its author is listed simply as an “Old Welsh Song.” It is in the public domain.**

            Jan Dooku couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t that he wasn’t comfortable. Having Xan curled around him like a contented loth-cat made him very comfortable indeed. It wasn’t that he wasn’t tired. The past few days had been full of intense meditation, both alone and with others, usually Master Yoda but sometimes other members of the Council as well. They were searching for anything that might make him unfit to be Reconciled to the Order. And though there would be one more joint session immediately before he renewed his vows, Yoda had made it known to him that having passed the exhausting joint meditation this evening, the session in the morning would mostly be a formality.

            With great care, Jan sat up, gently disentangling himself from his partner. There was just enough ambient light in the room for him to see to reach out and tuck Xan’s long black hair behind his ear. His breath caught, as it often did, looking at his partner. After his Fall and all the terrible things that he’d done, he’d never imagined that the Force would be willing to give him such a gift as Xan was. It was quite simply beyond his comprehension that the Force still found him worthy of such a gift. Yet, here Xan was, in his bed, in his life, in his mind…in his heart. That first night the two of them had spent together, there on Kamino, Jan had sworn to himself that he would never take a single moment of Xan’s love for granted. And that was one vow that he would turn his saber on himself if necessary to keep.

            Jan slipped out of their bedroom into the common room, absently noting that Yoda was missing. It wasn’t surprising. Yoda’s species required a great deal less sleep than humans, and he tended to spend much of each night meditating elsewhere in the Temple.

            Stifling a yawn, Jan moved aside the curtain blocking the night sky of Coruscant and stared out into the darkness. His thoughts drifted back to Yoda. Today, after that last grueling meditation, Yoda had come and settled in front of Jan. Jan had immediately remembered that very first encounter, there in the Council chambers, when Obi-Wan had brought him back.

            But this time, Yoda was smiling, his mouth twisted in that odd, almost fierce look that Jan knew from many years by Yoda’s side to be a smile.

            “Proud of you, I am, padawan mine. Always believed that return to us, you would.” And then Yoda did something that Jan could remember him doing only one other time in Jan’s life, the day of his Knighting. Awkwardly, Yoda climbed into his lap and reached up, wrapping his short arms around Jan’s neck and drawing him into an embrace. His words were a mere whisper in Jan’s ear, but he heard them clearly.

            “Attached to you, I am. To lose you, I did not wish.” A rush of affection flooded their old dormant training bond, and Jan was only too happy to awaken the bond again and send back the same.

            “I’ve missed you, my master,” Jan said, his voice rough. Tears fell unheeded down his face until Yoda reached up to wipe them away…and then Jan realized that Yoda was crying too. He returned the hug, realizing that he had indeed come home.

            Jan shook himself out of his memories. Truly, the Force had been undeservedly good to him. He had no idea why he had been given a second chance, but he would try his best to make the most of it…for the good of the galaxy, for the good of the Order, and for the good of those he loved.

            “Do or do not. There is no try.”

            Jan laughed. “Reading my mind through our bond, Xan? Your impression of our Grandmaster has yet to improve.” Jan relaxed immediately as the younger man slipped his arms around him and pulled him close. Jan had never been a very tactile man, and his years as a Sith had left him essentially touch-starved. It was not only Obi-Wan’s words that had impressed him during their first encounter. It was that the young Jedi Master had been willing to touch him, to hold him…a Sith Lord! Though his grandpadawan had started the process, Jan had quickly found that the more he touched, the more he was touched in return.

            It had meant so much to him a few days ago when Asajj had finally, with surprising shyness, allowed him to help her to the Halls of Healing after she’d gotten injured as they practiced hand-to-hand sparring. He freely admitted that he’d been an aloof, reserved master to her for most of her apprenticeship. She’d needed more from him than he’d given her; he knew that now. She’d come to him broken and hurting, and he’d done little to help her. But that Asajj had actually risked coming to the Jedi Temple to “save” him had showed him that, even in regards to her, the Force was giving him a second chance. He’d stayed by her side in the Healing Halls and had spent the night at her bedside. When he took her back to her quarters afterward, she’d only managed to mutter a thank you, but she’d not flinched away when he’d gently squeezed her hand. Then, she’d squeezed his back. That simple gesture had meant more to him than all the credits in his account.

            Jan refocused on what his partner was saying.

            “You’re nervous about tomorrow, aren’t you?” Xan asked softly.

            Jan sighed. “I suppose I am. Really, you’d think at my age that I’d be beyond it. Yet, I feel like I did the night before my Trials!” He grimaced. “I was a better man then. What I have become…”

            “You are a better man than you were as a Sith. You will never be that innocent, naïve young knight again, but you have found wisdom. Hard-won wisdom, but perhaps, that is the best kind.” Xan took Jan’s bearded face in his hands. “You have found your way back.” He leaned forward and kissed the elder man gently.

            Jan blushed, feeling far too much like that uncertain knight again. “It was Obi-Wan who brought me back…”

            Xan hushed him with a fingertip against his lips. “Enough of that. Yes, he brought you back, but you had to make the choice first. If there is one thing that I know about my padawan brother, it is that he is the last person in the galaxy who would have compelled you to return against your will.” He paused and looked into Jan’s dark brown eyes. “You chose to return.”

            Jan swallowed audibly. “Yes. Yes, I did. I chose. I just wish I had chosen sooner. I’ve made so many mistakes. If I had raised Qui-Gon differently…”

            “Qui-Gon is safe with the Force now. There is nothing more that you need to do for him. But there is so much you can do for us…for Feemor, Obi-Wan, Bruck, Anakin, Asajj, Ahsoka, Mace, Yoda…and for the Order and the galaxy. Just do the best that you can for those of us who still need your guidance and wisdom…and love.” Xan smiled. “That will be enough for the Force.”

            Jan’s answering smile was uncertain. “I don’t deserve any of this. I keep expecting to wake up in the morning and find myself a Sith again, serving a monster.” There was very much of the youngling in the elder man as he asked softly, “How can this possibly be real?”

            Xan kissed Jan again, running a hand through his silver hair. He took Jan’s trembling hands and clasped them in his own.

            “It can…it is…because I love you.” Xan let his mental shields fall, reaching out to envelope Jan in his Force presence. He watched as the elder man’s eyes blurred with tears even as he felt Jan’s shields fall. Unresisting, Jan let Xan lead him back to their bed.

            Xan leaned down, letting his long black hair drape around them like a curtain as they kissed, and then Xan wrapped his arms around him, tucking the blankets in as he settled them both comfortably.

            “You need to sleep, Beloved. It will do you no good to be exhausted at your Reconciliation.”

            Jan smiled. Xan could be such a mother bantha sometimes. “I know. My mind is just so restless, and I don’t think I can tolerate any more meditation right now.”

            For a moment, they were both quiet. Then, in the darkness, Xan began to sing.

**_“Sleep, my love, and peace attend thee_ **

**_All through the night_ **

**_Guardian angels, God will lend thee,_ **

**_All through the night._ **

**_Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,_ **

**_Hill and vale in slumber steeping,_ **

**_Love alone his watch is keeping,_ **

**_All through the night.”_ **

            Xan let the final notes fade away. In his arms, Jan was finally sleeping. Xan smiled, closed his eyes, and followed him.

            In the Room of a Thousand Fountains, Yoda smiled a private smile as he felt two of his children find peace.


	2. Home

** Disclaimer ** **: I don’t own it, and I am making no money off of it.**

 ** AN ** **: I couldn’t resist adding another chapter to this story. This chapter is what happens after Dooku’s successful Reconciliation to the Order. I’ve created details for the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Because it wasn’t specified elsewhere in the Sithnip AU, I decided that Dooku’s lightsaber was returned to him at the conclusion of his Reconciliation but without the Sith red crystal.**

            Jan Dooku should have been exhausted. He knew the events of the day were going to catch up with him all at once before many more hours passed. But for the moment, his exhaustion had been overwhelmed by an emotion so strong and pure that he, so recently a Sith, had scarcely known how to process it…joy. Jan was trying his best to keep from grinning like a fool, but that silly expression kept creeping onto his face anyway. He was practically giddy with joy, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so much like a child with his emotions so gloriously chaotic.

            “That, my darling, is exactly why we are going to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. You’re in no shape to settle down to anything right now, and I need to get some food into you and then help you run off some of that nervous energy,” Xan said fondly.

            Jan made a valiant, futile effort to calm himself. “I’m sorry, Xan. I know I’m out of control right now. I’m embarrassed that I can’t seem to bring order to my emotions.”

            Xan stopped, pulling him into a quiet alcove in the hallway. “Jan, it’s alright. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” He reached up, gently smoothing the elder man’s silver hair, tousled from the stress of the day. “It gives me joy to see you so joyful. I’ve been worried about you. I’ve been worried that the Dark Side had changed you permanently.” Xan swallowed a sob as he stared into his beloved’s brown eyes. “Even after what happened between us on Kamino, a part of me was still afraid that you wouldn’t be able to truly love me.”

            Jan caught his breath. Without another word, he took Xan into his arms, and the younger man went willingly. For several moments, they clung together in the quiet. Jan stroked Xan’s black hair and steadied the other man against his shoulder as Xan shook with silent tears.

            Finally, they both straightened, though they continued to hold hands as they entered the Room of a Thousand Fountains. The ceiling had already darkened to night, but Xan led them unerringly to a half-hidden garden with a small waterfall and pool that he knew was one of Jan’s favorite places.

            “I packed us a light meal, since I didn’t figure your stomach would have completely calmed down yet,” Xan said, using the Force to spread a blanket on the grass as he opened a picnic basket. He reached into a bowl and extended a sweet fruit to his partner.

            Jan blushed. “You seem intent on spoiling me, beloved,” he said. But he opened his mouth and allowed the younger man to feed him the fruit.

            Xan laughed. “It’s my joy to spoil you.” He laughed again as Jan plucked another fruit and offered it to him. “Oh, very well. Turnabout is fair play, I suppose,” Xan said as he ate the fruit.

            They passed a lazy half hour that way, feeding each other fruit and other tidbits. The couple had discarded their boots and outer garments in the drowsy humidity of the evening. They said little but shared emotions across their pair bond. Jan felt himself calming in the presence of his partner. Xan’s presence always had that effect on him.

            Jan took out his lightsaber, idly twirling it between his hands. The saber itself had been given back to him today, but the red crystal inside had been removed and destroyed. He had expected to have to go to Ilum to get a new crystal, but Xan had surprised him. As soon as Mace returned his saber to him, Xan had stepped forward. In his hand was a blue crystal.

            “The last time I visited Ilum, the Force directed me to collect two crystals. At the time, I didn’t know why I would need two, but now, I understand why,” Xan said.

            The sparkle of the crystal in Xan’s hand was no match for the sparkle in Jan’s eyes.

            Jan smiled, remembering. He glanced up at his partner.

            Xan smiled back. “Would you like to spar?”

            Of course, they’d been sparring frequently, but Jan had been using a borrowed saber. With his own blade back in his hand, Xan found that his partner was a much more relaxed opponent. This spar was almost playful, showcasing all of their skill but little of their strength. They finally fought to a draw and extinguished their sabers as they caught their breath.

            Jan laughed, running a hand through his sweaty hair. “That was wonderful. I haven’t sparred for the sheer joy of it in far too long.”

            Xan laughed too and then knelt on the grass, leaning over the pool and scooping up some cool water to splash on his hot face. He was not expecting the hands on his back, shoving him off balance enough to send him splashing into the water.

            Xan came up sputtering, treading water, outrage warring with amusement. “You idiot! By the Force, what did you do that for?”

            Crouched on the grass, Jan was desperately trying to get his breath back from laughing so hard.

            “Forgive me, love, but it was just too perfect. I couldn’t resist,” Jan gasped out, his face red, even as their bond practically vibrated with glee.

            Xan’s heart lurched. Glee was an emotion he’d never imagined he’d ever feel from his partner, and it was more wonderful than he’d dreamed. His eyes narrowed as he watched Jan. Well, as he’d told him earlier, turnabout really was fair play.

            Quicker than Jan could react, Xan reached up and grabbed his partner’s hands, pulling him into the water with a tremendous splash. Now it was the elder man’s turn to surface indignantly, sputtering and laughing.

            “I can’t believe I didn’t see that coming,” Jan muttered, water dripping from his beard.

            Xan just laughed and kissed a drop of water off his partner’s nose. “I’m glad you didn’t.” He shoved his wet hair behind his ears. “You need this.”

            For a moment, Jan was silent. Finally, he softly said, “Yes, I do.” Xan drew him into his arms, and he felt what seemed like the tension of a lifetime slowly seep out of him to disappear into the water.

            Their lips met…and finally, the silence was broken by Xan’s whisper in his ear.

            “You’ve come home.”

            Jan remembered what Obi-Wan had said to him on Geonosis. “We will always welcome you home.”

            Jan rested his head on Xan’s shoulder and let the water wash away his tears.


	3. Mischief

** Disclaimer ** **: I don’t own it, and I am making no money off of it.**

 ** AN ** **: This is a direct continuation of the last chapter. Our boys wanted to have some fun, and Yoda wanted some attention as well. Here’s the silly, fluffy result. The poem quoted below is in the public domain. It is called “Night Thoughts,” and it is by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In this chapter, I also establish that Coruscant has visible stars (don’t know if this is canon) and that Jedi children use finger paint.**

            They didn’t bother to use the Force to dry themselves off and instead dripped their way back to their quarters carrying the rest of their clothes.

            Yoda took one look at them, and inquired blandly, “Raining in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, it is, Padawans?”

            Both men blushed, and Jan mumbled, “Not exactly, Master.”

            Yoda idly twirled his gimer stick. “A perfectly good fresher here, you have. Yet, felt the need to take a bath in the fountains, you did?” He tapped his stick on the floor. “Younglings, you still are?”

            Xan saw Yoda, saw his stick, and exclaimed, “He started it! Jan pushed me into the water!”

            Jan laughed outright. Xan sounded like a petulant child, and Jan loved him all the more for it. His laugh cut off abruptly as Yoda’s stick connected with his shins…twice.

            “Ouch! Master, that hurt!” Jan grumbled. “So what if I pushed him into the water? He pulled me in after him!”

            Xan’s exaggerated pout was terribly cute…something no one would have told him to his face, not even Jan. He rather valued staying alive, after all.

            “You deserved it…getting me all wet,” Xan sniffed. The effect was ruined by the wet hair still hanging in soaked lengths around his face.

            Yoda’s stick impacted a second time, this time against Xan’s shins. “Naughty padawans, you are! Punish you both, I must!” Yoda’s grumpiness was forced. His eyes were shining and his ears were twitching erratically, sure signs that he was on the edge of laughter. “To bed, you will go! Sleeping by now, younglings like you should be!”

            Jan didn’t pout nearly as well as Xan, but he made a good attempt. “Oh, Master, do we really have to go to bed now?” Jan whined.

            Both Jan and Xan dodged the gimer stick this time, just as Yoda’s attempt at grandmasterly sternness crumbled into helpless laughter.

            “Idiots, you both are!” Yoda gasped out, his grin nearly splitting his face. “Still wearing padawan braids, you should be!”

            Then they were laughing too, dragging Yoda into a soggy hug that he made no attempt to resist. Yoda reached up with a three-fingered clawed hand that trembled ever so slightly and cradled first Jan’s chin, then Xan’s.

            “Mine, you are. Keep you both, I will.” The two younger men felt a pulse of love surge across the mental bonds that they both had with Yoda, and, over his halfhearted protests, they each pressed a kiss to Yoda’s wrinkled cheek.

            “Stuffed plaything, I am not!” Yoda gestured imperiously at them with his stick. “To bed, you will go!”

            Yoda finally left, still laughing, as Jan and Xan tried to recover themselves.

            “Come, darling, let’s get changed,” Jan said, finally managing to catch his breath. Xan followed him into the fresher where they deposited their drenched clothes in the laundry chute and changed into the soft tunics and leggings that they slept in. But when Xan would have used the Force to dry his hair, Jan stopped him.

            “May I play with your hair?” the elder man said softly, and Xan didn’t have it in him to tell him no. After all, he liked having his partner’s fingers in his hair. Jan’s touch was soothing, so soothing in fact that he was not even aware of the slight Force touch that his partner used to braid his hair into a mass of tiny braids, like padawan braids but without the beads. He might have taken notice of it if it hadn’t been for that Force touch and Jan’s deep voice softly singing him to sleep with the words of a Serennian love song.

**_“Stars, you are unfortunate, I pity you,_ **

**_Beautiful as you are, shining in your glory,_ **

**_Who guide seafaring men through stress and peril_ **

**_And have no recompense from gods or mortals,_ **

**_Love you do not, nor do you know what love is._ **

**_Hours that are aeons urgently conducting_ **

**_Your figures in a dance through the vast heaven,_ **

**_What journey have you ended in this moment,_ **

**_Since lingering in the arms of my beloved_ **

**_I lost all memory of you and midnight.”_ **

            It wasn’t until they rose the next morning, dressing hastily for a meeting that they both had to attend, that Xan realized just what his partner had done to his hair.

            “Jan!” Xan shouted, aghast as he stared at himself in the fresher mirror. “What did you do to me last night?”

            His face a picture of perfect innocence, Jan asked. “Whatever do you mean, Xan? You did say that I could play with your hair.”

            The look of horror on Xan’s face was priceless. “But I look worse than Quinlan Vos did after he fought with that krayt dragon!” Now that the Force touch had worn off and the skinny braids had unraveled, the perils of braiding hair while wet and then sleeping on it had been revealed. Xan’s luxurious straight black hair was a mass of crimped frizz, making him resemble some of the less friendly plants in the Temple greenhouse.

            Jan tried to swallow his laugh. “You ought to know by now, Xan. Jedi don’t always play fair.” He held up a holocamera and took a picture. “Master Yoda’s going to love this.”

            Xan attempted to use the Force to grab the camera, but Jan dodged away, laughing. Xan attempted to tackle his partner, but Jan was two steps ahead of him. With Xan on his heels, Jan forgot his dignity and his age and sprinted through their quarters and out the door. Those in the hallway found themselves treated to a startling sight: the newly-Reconciled Jedi Master Jan Dooku, robes flapping behind him and a holocamera tucked under his arm, followed by his partner, Jedi Master Xanatos du Crion whose lovely hair looked like the crechelings had decided to play a game of padawan pretend with it and who was shouting various vague threats at the man he was chasing, who was red from laughing so hard.

            With a long-suffering sigh, Master Yoda watched the pair run past. He shook his head resignedly.

            “Learn, Xanatos never will. Jan, a perfect padawan, was most definitely not!” His hand tightened on his stick. “Hit them more, I should have! Nothing more than naughty padawans, they are.”

            In a secluded corner, Xan finally caught his partner. Snatching the camera triumphantly, Xan grinned.

            “You know, Jan, you owe me one in compensation for this travesty,” he said, pointing at his hair.

            Jan laughed. “Guilty as charged. I’ll fix your hair.”

            Xan shook his head. “That’s not enough. You are going to take my place in creche duty this afternoon.”

            Jan went pale. “Now, darling, you know I don’t have much of a knack with crechelings.”

            Xan smirked. “You should have thought of that before you made me Quinlan’s poorer groomed twin.” He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m sure the little ones will adore you.”

            When Jan returned to their quarters for late-meal, Xan realized it had been better than he had hoped. Today’s creche art project had been finger painting. Jan, having been obliged to attend in light-colored robes so that his typical dark clothing would not frighten the younglings, was covered in paint every color of the rainbow, from the top of his head to the toes of his boots.

            Xan could only laugh helplessly. “I see the crechelings decided that you were their canvas."

            Jan’s scowl would have had more impact if his face hadn’t resembled a rainbow.

            “Indeed. I have no doubt that you knew exactly what was going to happen.” Jan’s voice held a warning tone, but Xan was too caught up in his amusement to notice.

            Xan kept laughing. “Actually, I didn’t. But you can’t say that you didn’t deserve it. As we agreed yesterday, turnabout is fair play.”

            Suddenly, Jan reached out and snatched him, pulling the younger man into a messy embrace. The wet paint smeared all over Xan, and his outraged wriggling only got him dirtier. Xan tried to twist away, but Jan held him with a Force touch. At last, Xan laughed in spite of himself and stopped struggling, allowing his partner to finish covering him in paint.

            “Now, we’re even.” He smirked. “You didn’t think I would do that?” Jan teased, dragging his paint wet fingers through Xan’s hair and leaving streaks of paint across his face.

            Xan sighed but smiled. “Clearly, it was a lapse of judgment on my part. Master Yoda always insists that you got up to more than your share of mischief as a padawan. I think I believe him now.” Xan looked down at himself and then at Jan. “We are quite the sight, aren’t we? Force, but the things that you can make me do!”

            Jan grinned. “Likewise. I never used to smile…to laugh…like this. Now, I do it all the time.” He cupped Xan’s face in his paint covered hands. “I’m so glad that the Force brought us together.”

            “So am I,” Xan said, leaning into the older man’s touch. They kissed gently. “I love you.”

            “And I love you,” Jan returned, relishing the feeling of their Force signatures as they mentally twined around each other.

            They stirred at last, realizing that they were both hungry and that the drying paint was starting to itch.

            “We really should get cleaned up,” Xan said, glancing ruefully at the mess they had made of themselves. Then he smiled. “It was worth it though.”

            Jan smiled back. “Agreed. It was absolutely worth it.”

            His Force signature shielded from them, a small, green Jedi master watched them with satisfaction. Work, it would be, to clean up the mess.

            But thinking of what could have been if his two children had not been snatched from the Dark, Yoda knew that it was worth it.

            He watched them kiss. Yes. Worth it, it most definitely was.


End file.
